NIH-funded study links extra year of school to fewer dementia diagnoses

An additional year of secondary school was associated with fewer dementia diagnoses decades later, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health and published October 23, 2026, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The NIH said researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Southern California studied a 1972 law in England, Wales and Scotland that raised the minimum school-leaving age from 15 to 16 for students born after Sept. 1, 1957. The change led to a 14% increase in students staying in school until age 16, the agency said.

Using medical data from more than 100,000 UK Biobank participants, the researchers found the extra year reduced Alzheimer's disease and related dementia incidence over the following 50 years by 0.88%, according to the NIH. The agency said the effect was strongest among participants carrying genetic variants linked to higher risk. The reform was also tied to improvements in socioeconomic and other health factors.

The NIH said the authors urged caution because participant age was capped at 65, and differences between groups may change as the cohort ages.

Richard Hodes, director of NIH's National Institute on Aging, said the findings indicate additional schooling can offset inherited vulnerability. The research was supported by National Institute on Aging grants.

Source: National Institutes of Health.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/389